The present invention generally relates to a child support device and, more particularly, is concerned with a child chair in the configuration of a stuffed animal and having an internal skeletal frame which uses the weight of the child seated on the chair to maintain the chair stationary and stable.
Various support devices shaped in the configuration of a body of a human, animal or fictional character with limbs, such as arms or legs, that wrap around and hug a child while in an upright seated position have been proposed heretofore. Representative of the prior art are the devices disclosed in Jennings U.S. Pat. No. 3 840,916, Nakamura U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,604 and Scott U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,310. Other somewhat related devices are disclosed in Hayes U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,668, Strom U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,528 and Bromberg et al (Des. 294,099).
These prior art child support devices may function as intended by their designers. However, they all appear to have one common, significant drawback from the standpoint of their stability during use. Either no structure at all or an inadequate one is provided for stabilizing the devices at a stationary position and to assist in supporting the child in an upright seated position.
Consequently, a need exists for an improved construction of such devices which will overcome this drawback without introducing a new one in its place.